ML23261A600
| ML23261A600 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Grand Gulf  |
| Issue date: | 10/02/2023 |
| From: | Theresa Clark NRC/RGN-IV/DORS |
| To: | Kapellas B Entergy Operations |
| Roberts A | |
| References | |
| EA-22-078, IR 2023001, EA-23-078 | |
| Download: ML23261A600 (6) | |
See also: IR 05000416/2023001
Text
September 29, 2023
Brad Kapellas, Site Vice President
Entergy Operations, Inc.
Grand Gulf Nuclear Station
P.O. Box 756
Port Gibson, MS 39150
SUBJECT:
GRAND GULF NUCLEAR STATION - NRC INSPECTION REPORT
05000416/2023001, DISPUTED NON-CITED VIOLATION UPHELD
Dear Brad Kapellas:
On May 10, 2023, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued the subject report,
Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession
No. ML23110A800. The inspection report documented a non-cited violation (NCV) for the failure
to submit two licensee event reports (LERs) within 60 days after the date of discovery
In a letter dated June 15, 2023, you provided a written response and denied
NCV 05000416/2023001-04 (ML23166B066). On June 27, 2023 (ML23177A263), the NRC
acknowledged receipt of your letter.
The NRC conducted a detailed review of your June 15, 2023, letter and examined
circumstances and applicable regulatory requirements in accordance with Part I, Section 2.8 of
the NRC Enforcement Manual. This review was performed by a staff member who was not
involved in the original inspection effort. After consideration of the bases for your dispute of
NCV 05000416/2023001-04, the NRC concluded that the inspection report correctly
characterizes the performance deficiency and is upholding the NCV. The details of the NRCs
evaluation are documented in the enclosure.
In accordance with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Section 2.390 of the
NRCs Agency Rules of Practice and Procedure, a copy of this letter and its enclosure will be
made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room and from
the NRCs ADAMS, accessible from the NRC website at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-
rm/adams.html.
B. Kapellas
2
If you have any questions concerning this matter, please contact Doug Dodson of my staff
at 817-200-1436.
Sincerely,
Theresa V. Clark, Acting Director
Division of Operating Reactor Safety
Docket No. 050000416
License No. NPF-29
Enclosure:
As stated
Signed by Clark, Theresa
on 09/29/23
SUNSI Review:
AADAMS:
Non-Publicly Available Non-Sensitive
Keyword:
By: ACR
Yes No
Publicly Available
Sensitive
OFFICE
ES:ACES
SES:ACES
C:PBC
TL:ACES
RC
NAME
ARoberts
JKramer
DDodson
JGroom
DCylkowski
SIGNATURE
/RA/ E
/RA/ E
/RA/ E
/RA/ E
/RA/ E
DATE
09/15/23
09/18/23
09/20/23
09/19/23
09/25/23
OFFICE
D:DORS
NAME
BHughes
DJones
TClark
SIGNATURE
/RA/ E
/RA/ E
/RA/ E
DATE
09/25/23
09/25/23
09/29/23
Enclosure
NRC Evaluation of Licensee Response to a Non-Cited Violation (NCV)
Restatement of NCV 05000416/2023001-04
Title 10 CFR 50.73(a)(1) requires, in part, that a licensee shall submit an LER [Licensee
Event Report] for any event of the type described in this paragraph within 60 days after the
discovery of the event.
Title 10 CFR 50.73(a)(2) requires, in part, that the licensee shall report any operation
or condition which was prohibited by the plants TSs [technical specifications] except
as allowed by 10 CFR 50.73(a)(2)(i)(B)(1), 10 CFR 50.73(a)(2)(i)(B)(2), or
Contrary to the above:
1.
On January 4, 2022, the licensee failed to submit LER 2021-004-00 for a condition which
was prohibited by the plants TSs within 60 days after the discovery of the event and the
condition was not an exception as allowed by either 10 CFR 50.73(a)(2)(i)(B)(1),
10 CFR 50.73(a)(2)(i)(B)(2), or 10 CFR 50.73(a)(2)(i)(B)(3).
2.
On February 1, 2022, the licensee failed to submit LER 2021-005-00 for a condition
which was prohibited by the plants TSs within 60 days after the discovery of the event
and the condition was not an exception as allowed by either 10 CFR 50.73(a)(2)(i)(B)(1),
10 CFR 50.73(a)(2)(i)(B)(2), or 10 CFR 50.73(a)(2)(i)(B)(3).
Summary of Licensee Response
In its June 15, 2023, letter, Entergy Operations, Inc. (licensee) contested the significance of
NCV 05000416/2023001-04 for Grand Gulf Nuclear Station (GGNS). Although the licensee
acknowledged that the two LERs were submitted 76 days and 62 days after the time of
discovery, respectively, the licensee requested that the violation be re-characterized as a minor
violation, in accordance with its interpretation of the NRCs Enforcement Policy and certain
precedent cases at other power reactor licensees.
The licensee noted that the examples of Severity Level IV violations in Section 6.9.d of the
Enforcement Policy include some scenarios where the licensee fails to make a timely required
report, whereas the example (6.9.d.9) involving 10 CFR 50.73 does not explicitly mention
timeliness; therefore, an untimely LER is not necessarily covered by this example. The licensee
argued that although the two LERs in question were not submitted in a timely manner, there
was no failure to make a required report altogether. The licensee further argued that the
lateness of the two LERs did not have any apparent impact on the NRCs regulatory process.
The licensee referenced Section 2.2.1 of the Enforcement Policy:
Unless otherwise categorized in the violation examples contained in this Policy (i.e.,
Section 6.0), the severity level of a violation involving the failure to make a required
report to the NRC will depend on the significance of and the circumstances surrounding
the matter that should have been reported. However, the severity level of an untimely
report, in contrast to no report, may be reduced depending on the circumstances.
2
The licensee referenced two past NRC inspection reports, at Susquehanna Steam Electric
Station (dated February 13, 2019, ML19045A259) and Sequoyah Units 1 and 2 (dated February
10, 2020, ML20042C265), in which NRC inspectors characterized similar violations of 10 CFR
50.73(a) as minor violations.
Licensee Conclusion
The licensee concluded that NCV 05000416/2023001-04, documented in the NRC Inspection
Report 05000416/2023001 as a Severity Level IV violation, would best be characterized as a
minor violation.
NRC Evaluation
The NRC staff performed an independent review of the licensees position as described in its
letter dated June 15, 2023, for NCV 05000416/2023001-04. The NRC staff reviewed:
Regulatory requirements in 10 CFR 50.73;
The NRCs Enforcement Policy; and
Previous inspection reports with both minor and more-than-minor violations of
Further, the NRC staff interviewed Enforcement Policy subject matter experts at the NRC Office
of Enforcement, and the NRC inspectors who identified the violation and composed the
inspection report.
Some past violations of 10 CFR 50.73 have been characterized at Severity Level IV, but those
identified by the reviewers search all entailed the licensees failure to make a required report at
all, as opposed to making an untimely report. In each of these cases, the licensee only
submitted the required LER after the violation was identified by the NRC, and each violation was
dispositioned as an NCV:
Fermi Power Plant, Unit 2 - inspection report dated January 30, 2017 (ML17030A328)
Perry Nuclear Power Plant - inspection report dated May 9, 2018 (ML18129A406)
Ginna Nuclear Power Plant - inspection report dated November 4, 2021
In preparing the inspection report, the Region IV Division of Operating Reactor Safety
inspectors had considered applying Section 2.2.1 of the Enforcement Policy to record this as a
minor violation, as had been done in the past for violations involving untimely LERs. But, given
that the untimely LERs at GGNS were not isolated cases, but rather indicated an ongoing
process issue with the licensees implementation of the requirements of 10 CFR 50.73, and
given that this issue required inspector intervention, the NRC staff determined the violation to be
best categorized as Severity Level IV.
The currently disputed NCV 05000416/2023001-04 for GGNS entailed two examples in which
the LERs were submitted 16 days and 2 days, respectively, after the 60-day requirement. This
3
is a relatively short span of time that could represent minimal impact to the NRCs regulatory
oversight function if these were isolated incidents with different causal factors. However, for
both of these cases, the licensee incorrectly interpreted the date of discovery in 10 CFR 50.73
to mean the date when the condition was determined to be reportable, rather than the date that
the reportable condition was actually identified. This was a flaw in the licensees procedure for
identifying events and preparing LERs. If the NRC inspection had not identified this issue, the
procedural error would likely have led to additional untimely LERs in the futurepotentially
including greater delays and higher significance events. The root cause of the late LERs was an
ongoing process issue with the licensees interpretation of the requirements of 10 CFR 50.73
and therefore an appreciable impact to the NRCs regulatory oversight function. In addition,
NRC interaction was required to correct the licensees process. Under these conditions, the
NRC cannot characterize the violation as minor and has determined that the appropriate
characterization is Severity Level IV.
NRC Conclusion
The NRC staff concluded that the NCV as documented in the May 10, 2023, inspection report
remains upheld. The licensee failed to submit two LERs, 2021-004-00 and 2021-005-00, for
conditions which were prohibited by the plants TSs within 60 days after the discovery of the
respective events. This violation was correctly assessed as Severity Level IV and dispositioned
as an NCV in accordance with the NRCs Enforcement Policy. Therefore, the NRC is upholding
NCV 05000416/2023001-04, Failure to Submit a Licensee Event Report Within 60 Days.